David Carey, President, Hearst Magazines
Tom Harty, President, National Media Group, Meredith Corp.
Bob Sauerberg, President, Condé Nast

The panel engaged in some candid conversation that revealed their thoughts on the new direction of the industry, the challenges  they are currently facing and how they are driving positive change in their organizations.

You might be thinking, “Why are the thoughts of some huge media giants important to ad sales people working for small and medium sized publications?  How could their reality have any bearing on mine?”  Two words.  Early adopters.  The larger media companies are the ones at the forefront of digital media and they are the ones who are out there spending the dollars on what they are calling the “R&D Phase”. What they are experiencing in terms of digital media can and should dictate smaller publications’ digital strategies in years to come. Here are some of the highlights from the session that are particularly relevant to smaller media companies trying to find their way in the new media ecosystem.

The Big Guys Don’t Have All the Answers…Yet
The first thing to know is that the leaders of some of the most successful magazine companies in the world don’t have all the answers yet when it comes to embracing digital assets into their mix.  While they all firmly believe that it is the future, they also readily admit that advertisers and pubs need to work hard together during this R&D period to figure out what is best for their collective businesses. That means as much as your advertisers need you, you also need them to help develop innovative assets that will leverage the true potential of digital media.

In reference to the mobile market specifically, Bob Sauerberg, President of Condé Nast stated, “We are only a year in to a new industry and we are all still in R&D mode. This is a $15 million dollar business that didn’t exist a year ago and we’re all really thrilled about it.” He adds that, “Mobile will be  a key asset that will enable us to revalue the consumer proposition at Condé Nast.” He confirmed that their focus will be on, “…redefining their product offering in a way that creates a branded experience.” It is a tall order and Sauerberg went so far as to call it his “mission in life.”

Measurement has Not Been Perfected
Measurement is a challenge for any magazine publisher with cross-platform  offerings. While the offerings are essential, measuring across multiple assets and multiple media is a huge challenge – for small and large companies alike.  All three men expressed a hopeful attitude that they were well on the way to figuring out the measurement equation, but when pushed on their innovations in this department, most were focused on print only.

“The total audience footprint is vital”, according to Hearst’s President David Carey, but he didn’t seem to have a specific strategy for measuring it.  The takeaway – go easy on yourselves and be patient. The metrics puzzle hasn’t been solved by even the biggest players. It will take time for the metrics capabilities to catch up to the technical options.

High Engagement will Translate to Ad Sales
All three of the Presidents were bullish about the potential of digital (and specifically mobile) for driving advertising revenue. They each cited that engagement factors either matched or exceed print in most cases and that they felt their digital offerings were something advertisers could get really excited about.

Tom Hardy of Meredith Corporation also noted, “The truly successful ads are specially created for [the mobile] experience and they enhance the experience when done right, rather than when the ad has been repurposed from something else.”

Social Media Focus
All of the men on the panel agreed that social media was a key element in their growth strategies.  They all saw incredible potential within the social media realm, to the point where Bob Sauerberg predicted 10x engagement on social media in the next two years. David Carey noted that social media needs to be woven deeper into all of their products and therefore into the medium (he cites the TV show The Voice as a good example) and the next step is to drive the content & commerce connection. Sauerberg added that social media needs to be about more than just a volume number, it’s about engagement and real connection with your products.

All three organizations have been experiencing some growing pains, though. One serious challenge is stretching editorial groups to the limit with mobile and social and digital.

And then there is the issue of how to monetize social media. Carey stated, “Brand building is a component but ultimately we need to figure out how to monetize these massive audiences we’re gaining.”

See full video of the panel.

The Conference seemed to be well stocked with presentations from industry leaders on how to deal with the current break-neck speed of evolution in magazine publishing.  One presentation that really stood out (as far as I could tell from the highlights on the AMC site) wasn’t from a publisher or anyone within the magazine industry.  The presentation was delivered by an outsider, and an important one at that. It was from Marc Pritchard, Global Marketing & Brand Building Officer for Proctor & Gamble.

Pritchard’s presentation focused on brand innovation and he outlined some really interesting case studies about how P&G is approaching brand building within the new media ecosystem, including:

- An innovative campaign for Secret Deodorant called “Mean Stinks” focused on building participation, empowering girls to deal with meanness, and creating deeper one-to-one everyday personal connections starting with their initial posting on their Facebook site that asked girls to “say something nice.”

-  Dolce & Gabbana’s “The One Gentleman” campaign and partnership with GQ that focused on real-time, one-to-one brand building including extra services, information, education and even entertainment. It created one-to-one connections with men, and those connections have translated to increased sales for the brand.

A far more interesting part of the presentation, at least from an ad sales perspective, came near the end when Pritchard extended the following invitation to the audience, “I’d like to invite all of you to partner with P&G to help touch and improve the lives of every person on a truly one-to-one basis.” He then gave some guidelines as to how to go about that.   Two of them are particularly relevant to ad sales.

1 – Broaden Your Offerings
Pritchard stated, “First, broaden what you offer us. You are innovative, multi-media content curators focused on improving life with useful content and services, not just magazines.” If you don’t think of your publication as a multi-media content curator, perhaps now is the time to start. Pritchard also suggests changing the way you think about your audience, “Think of who you serve as “people,” not just “readers.”

2 – Experiment Together
Pritchard’s next message was essentially don’t be afraid to innovate.  He recognizes that advertisers and media publishers alike are forging new paths and that experimentation is required to find what works.  He said, “I’m telling our Brand Builders to have the courage to learn. Don’t try to qualify everything. Just do and learn and adjust along the way. We live in a real-time, always-on world, so this is the future of brand building. I’d like to see more social media experiments, for example. How could we move our communities to participate? What could we co-create? What lightweight and fun games could we play? What ongoing dialogue could we start?”

Pritchard hits on some of the most important elements that ALL advertisers need from their media partners these days – partnership and innovation.  These needs are not limited to the “big boys” (though they may be able to articulate them better).  They are essential for the long-term success of any brand in the new media ecosystem. As advertising reps, we play a a vital part in this new system.

What tools are you bringing to the table to provide advertisers with what they need to succeed and grow?

Bonus: Here is a link to a complete transcript of Pritchard’s AMC Presentation.

Thanks to an overview by TJ Raphael, one speaker in particular scolded magazines on their social media practices – Scott Galloway, New York University Professor of marketing and founder of L2 Digital Think Tank.

Galloway said the magazine industry is doing itself a disservice by not aggressively tapping into the benefits of the digital space and in particular Facebook.

“The reason you’re having trouble making money is because you’re not relevant—profits are an indicator of relevance,” he said, adding, “Not a brand in here is managing capital allocation correctly in relation to Facebook.”

The professor said that Facebook is the number one medium in every market and that magazine professionals need to view the social media platform as a market place, citing statistics that reveal that 50 percent of people on Facebook make at least $50,000 a year and that 38 percent of all online referral traffic now originates from Facebook.

To read more go to TJ Raphael’s post

Measurement should be as meaningful as possible to the advertiser.

Many of our clients are frustrated by the experience of their digital ad assets losing out to ad networks focused on keywords and/or industries than can get advertisers high click-through rates on the cheap. It’s a challenging issue and one that is causing many small publishers concern as they move their assets online.

Clicks are the easiest way to measure online advertising – they are also a valuable metric.  However, they are not the only metric and only make up one piece of a complex (and powerful) online advertising puzzle. If we consider that online advertising (though it has been around for a few years) is in the infancy of its technological life-cycle, it stands to reason that the majority of advertisers will still rely on rudimentary metrics as that is as far as they’ve come in their adoption of the technology.  Ad reps need to be patient with their clients as they become more and more educated about the true value that online advertising can bring to their brand and their business. This is an evolution and we are all in it together.

Interestingly, the research doesn’t support the predominant thinking in the marketplace.  A recent article cites, “Research shows that online display advertising is effective even at low click-through rates. comScore maintains that the primary effect of online ads is the exposure itself and not necessarily the act of clicking on it. In How Online Advertising Works: Whither The Click? comScore demonstrates that two-thirds of internet users do not click on any display ads over the course of a month and that only 16 percent of internet users account for 80 percent of all clicks. Furthermore, clickers tend to be younger and less affluent than non-clickers. comScore also confirmed that there is a latency effect and branding effect to online advertising, in which users arrive at the advertiser’s website even without clicking.”

Until the predominant attitudes toward the power of the click align with the research, the current “click obsession” remains. The result of  “click obsession” are ad campaigns that are more geared to response than branding. That isn’t good for the advertiser or the publisher as it tends to neglect the creativity required to really engage consumers. The good news is that an ad salesperson does have some power over the situation.  In fact, an ad sales person can be a key educator in helping clients to understand the ecosystem of online advertising and the value of engagement over clicks within the unique advertising environment their publication offers.

Ad salespeople can also push their publishers to innovate with their advertising offerings. By offering more rich media ads that can better track data points in addition to clicks, sales reps can prove engagement and create a competitive advantage over less technologically savvy publications.  The more data you can give advertisers about their ad’s effectiveness for your audience, the better. In reality, this can be challenging, especially for small publishers with limited resources to research, implement and manage new rich media ad technology.

So, what can a smaller pub do in the face of larger pubs who can offer all sorts of fancy metrics that perhaps they can’t?  Assuming that a small publisher wants to attract the advertisers that “get it” and want more from their advertising than just impressions or click-throughs, they can give them meaningful metrics in other ways by utilizing multiple platforms.  This becomes a win-win situation in the following ways:

For the advertiser focused on engagement, they get the opportunity to drive engagement by creating an immersive experience with their brand using print, digital, mobile, video and events.

For the publisher focused on attracting high quality brands, they get the opportunity to surround their readers with the right brands while offering information, coupons, sampling, promotions and sweepstake opportunities.

Moving digital advertising beyond the click, (and print advertising beyond CPM for that matter) is in everyone’s best interest.  Technology is surging ahead to give publishers they tools they need to provide the data points that advertisers want online with new and innovative rich media ads, but it is also important to remember that the deepest engagement comes when a consumer is surrounded by the right brands in an environment they trust.

Good targeting is essential to your sales success!

Lead generation can be one of the most challenging aspects of sales.  Targeting your prospects is an important part of ensuring you are as efficient as possible with lead generation.

Here are three approaches to targeting that can help you:

1. Vertical Market Approach

Start by breaking your past year’s sales down by category and see which categories represent the majority of sales.  Those categories are a good place to start searching for like companies that you can prospect. You can also leverage your experience and success by presenting case studies based on similar companies.

When targeting new verticals, make sure to target your verticals specifically. For instance, rather than targeting tourism companies, be more specific – for instance you could target tourism companies focused on eco-tourism that want to get access to environmentally-minded Canadians as a more direct fit for your publication.

2. Editorial Led Approach
Leverage your editorial team to help you target.  Work with them to mine the editorial calendar to match content with potential advertisers.  Also, make sure that you are leveraging your other platforms (like events and special content) to target new advertisers.  Start with a goal of working with your editorial team to determine what is best for your readers and then match potential advertisers to the great ideas. This approach does not mean you’re mixing editorial and advertising lines but instead you’re leveraging them.

3. Proactive Agency Approach
Agencies are an important part of any advertising sales person’s target list, but they can also be challenging. All agencies have two things in common. 1 – they are incredibly overworked and 2 – they are looking for creative new ideas to get their clients’ messages across to relevant audiences.

In an increasingly cluttered media landscape, you need to send more than a media kit to get noticed in a sea of competitors (print, online, events, etc.). Instead, try sending an innovation kit that includes information about your publication, but also interesting use cases that highlight results. We’ve heard from agencies recently that this will get you much further than simply sending a media kit.

Once you’ve been introduced to an agency and have started to develop a relationship, the best way to stay top of mind is to keep in touch by introducing more innovative ideas.  Get to know their clients. Keep on top of their campaigns and see what their client’s competitors are doing.  Go back to your editorial team with what you know about the target advertiser and brainstorm some interesting ideas that will match your content well with their message.  Create an attractive proposal explaining the idea simply and clearly.

The key to success in today’s ultra-competitive media environment is to remember that you are selling more than space. Your job is to match your publication’s unique and creative opportunities to advertiser’s needs.  Those advertisers need to be precisely targeted and by using the approaches above, you’ll be sure to have a well qualified list of potential targets to ensure your sales success.

Did you find this article helpful? We’d love your feedback on this and other areas you’d like more information on.

Session: Ad Sales – How to Hook a Media Buyer

Panelists:
Andrew Grant – Media Supervisor, Cossette
Tim Hughes – Managing Director, Client Leadership, Mindshare Canada
Jemma Turner – Account Supervisor, Supervisor of Account Planning, MediaExperts

Moderator: Rebecca Legge – VP Sales, Canada Wide Media

I had the opportunity to attend the Magazines West Conference in Vancouver last Friday, June 17th. I was most looking forward to the How to Hook a Media Buyer session as this type of session was conspicuously missing from MagNet11 (Magazines Canada’s annual conference) that I attended in Toronto the week before (see the IAS Blog for in-depth coverage of 9 MagNet sessions). This panel discussion did not disappoint! It gave an insider’s view into what media buyers are looking for these days and I came away with some great tips on what to do (and what not to do) to “hook” a media buyer.

Below are my session notes – enjoy!:

RL: What are your general opinions of print?
JT – Print still plays an important role in integrated campaigns. Need multiplatform approach (driving print to online and back again).
AG – Print allows us to be tactical with message. Good for text heavy ads. Audiences for print are older, not necessarily shrinking.
TH – Print is more of branding vehicle historically (esp. in consumer package goods) but it has evolved into more tactical use. Print won’t go away but needs to evolve. Biggest pullback in advertising was print and it has been the slowest to recover (as opposed to TV which has rebounded much more quickly). Print has been slow to innovate and those innovations are expensive. Need to find more efficient ways to be creative with print. Also, time to market is a negative factor.

RL: What does the print evolution need to look like?
AG: Re: online, you need to ask why someone would want to interact with you in that medium? Needs to be more than a webpage.  Need to bring audiences through an experience with online and then layer the advertising on to that. Need to appreciate how people interact within each environment (i.e sharing attention space with other content online).
TH: It’s not about a print product anymore, it is about the brand and your readers will choose to interact with the brand in whatever way they want.

RL: What percentage of your campaigns are multiplatform? How are you handling these campaigns?
JT: “Contextual valuing” leverages niche publications because they say someting relevant and personal to a reader vs general publications. Agencies want a partnership with the editorial team. What can your content do for our customer?  They love it when suppliers send innovative creative examples of what can be done (can be case study or just someting you’ve seen elsewhere). She never buys just a regular full page ad. Reiterated how she works with the editorial team to provide customers with contextual value.
AG: Build frequency through multiple media touch-points.
TH: Its about partnerships, but they can be difficult to measure. Building in research is key to those types of engagements as they go deep within one partner’s assets. Execution needs to be just as strong as the idea. Make sure metrics are in place and roles are clear.

Audience Question: How do you best like to interact with publications?
JT: She sends a brief, then expects a call with advertising & editorial teams. Then pub comes back with ideas.
TH & AG: Also, send briefs.
AG: Also happy with publications to bring ideas to us, but you better know my clients and their strategies well enough.
JT: Send cool innovative stuff you’ve done recently. She shares with the rest of agency on a regular basis.
TH: Receives 50-60 calls and 100+emails from reps weekly. The challenge is to break through the clutter.
RL: Reminds audience that case studies are key, and that they should include results.
AG: Send me a great case study every few months rather than a comp’d copy of the mag every week.
RL: Help them spark an idea for a campaign. If the idea is good, the money will come. Pushing a page is no longer enough.

Audience Question: How do you break through the clutter?
TH: Planners are much more engaged directly with clients, but you can make an enemy of agencies by going to the client directly. Ad sales is a long sales cycle. He referenced a 10 year relationship with no buy.
AG: Timelines are too tight for buyers to take care of relationships properly.

Question: How do small, niche pubs break through?
JT: Create face to face time. Lunch & learns work well if you bring lunch! Consumer engagement with a “passion point” is key but it needs to fit the advertiser’s strategy.
AG: You can sometimes find client lists on websites. Note: he never deletes anything so send a heads up with a media kit (they save on a shared drive).
JT: Find out who the key decision maker on the account is (might take getting through more junior people).
TH: Their agency doesn’t distribute publicly, follow marketing online and other trade pubs. However, they do agency presentations 3x a week.

Audience Question: Re timing of ad buys
TH: It is typically a combination of annual planning (often in summer, but not always) but also 1/2 year or quarterly planning and also ad hoc are in play.
AG: Planning cycles vary widely between different types of clients. Recommends not bugging a buyer too much, but stay on the radar (i.e. coffee every 6 months).
JT: Have a catchy subject line with emails!
TH: All media planners keep an innovation file – an archive of all of the interesting and innovative ideas they’ve seen in the marketplace.  Try to get your ideas in this file. Even if they don’t use your pub right away, you will stay in front of them.
JT: Make sure style is consistent and communications are concise.
AG: Headlines & highlights (and link through to web or something else).

Audience Question: Which is better, physical media kits or digital?
AG: Digital only (they recycle physical immediately)
JT: Same.

RL: Re: What gets you excited in terms of ideas and integration (She gave Style at Home idea example with editor getting a kitchen & readers voted with Ikea as sponsor)
AG: Exciting but ensure the content is truly relevant to readers.
TH: Forced linkage between advertising & editorial is troubling. The teams need to work together, though.
JT: Key is content. What value does your content bring to our product? Brands need to come together to work together.
AG: Editorial schedule well in advance is key!

Closing thoughts:
JT: Niche mags serve a good purpose, but be relevant.  Leverage personal aspect (though she’s also buying mass). She likes to include some niche in every plan.
AG: “What she said”. Stay in touch. Keep the relationship up with a view to the long-term.
TH: Know your pub and your audience.  Know our competition and help educate the planners. Help us connect with your audience!

Session:

Not only does Ian Adelman have extensive industry experience as Director of Design & User Experience for nymag.com that included developing some successful (and not so successful) apps,  his newest role is Director of Digital Design for The New York Times. He also brings a strong technology background to the table, including experience with product user interface design, which seems to heavily influence his approach to digital publications.  Ian’s session was focused on the technical, with lots of concrete “how to’s” and examples, but he also provided really insightful perspectives on why he approaches web design the way he does.

There were many, many takeaways from this session, but I’ve narrowed them down for you into to the Top 5 Tips for Creating a Great Magazine Website.

1. Unbind
Unbinding was a central theme throughout Ian’s presentation.  He acknowledges the current prejudice against digital – that it is somehow less craft than print, but he argues that it is all “making”. It is also interesting to note that he stopped saying he worked at a magazine a few years back as it had become multi-platform media and he feels the distinction is important.

Ian believes that the key to creating great multi-platform media is the ability to unbind content and then reassemble it in creative ways that fulfills the wants and needs of the audience.  Simple as that!

2. The User Comes First, then the Advertiser
Ian did get into many functional specifics on how to build a great magazine website and they all involved putting the user first and keeping things as simple as possible, with both the interface design and the development.  This is key to smaller publications with limited resources.

Some of Ian’s specific points re: page design were:
- the article page (not the home page) is the single most important factor on a magazine’s website
- establish clean content hierarchy
- navigation should provide a window into the entirety of the site content
- make site tools & functional elements visually distinct
- homepage should have more to do with what’s new than where they content originates
- make sure daily/hourly updated stuff is at the top and to the left on homepage!
- make sure to find the right balance of automation and curation on the homepage
- provide visual variety, but use clean, consistent templates

When asked his opinions on ad sizes and placement for websites, his main piece of advice was to always put the user experience first and then find ways to expand revenue opps within that experience. Specific tips included:
- the key is to keep people on the site, so don’t use a lot of the page for subscription offers
- likes AJAX and small movements in ads
- it is better when the user experience is textured in terms of advertising, when the user is allowed to experience the website rather than bombarding them all at one time
- above the fold isn’t as much of an issue as it used to be
- recommends bigger ads and fewer of them so they will have more value
- small ad tiles kill good design (amen!)
- track and learn from user behaviour

3. Be Careful with Apps
When Ian was with nymag.com they built an iPad app. It was a generalized app that basically replicated the publication. It failed. While the experience was painful, Ian and his team learned some critical lessons that they were able to apply to their next app, that turned out to be a huge success (it was App of the Week on the App Store).

Ian’s top app development tips:
- create focused, not generalized apps
- know what content your audience is looking for and how the are typically using the technology (nymag’s app focused on fashion and pretty pictures, drawing on on of the key strengths of iPad technology)
- keep the project stripped down with a small team (they built the app in 2 months and 8 days)

4. Build the right team before building anything else
The advertising/editorial lines are blurred much more on the web than in print.  Ian stressed that there needs to be collaboration between advertising and editorial staff in order to ensure the right balance is there.  In the end it is about the bottom line.

Ian’s key to success with his team boiled down to empowering a small team with a clear mission.

Also, a note on social media.  Ian recommends that unless you have people who can create relationships with audience through twitter (or any SM), don’t do it – and we wholeheartedly agree!

Panelists:
- Mary Coughlin: National Account Manager, Reader’s Digest
- Joyce Byrne: Associate Producer, Venture Publishing
- Branding Kirk: Director of Sales & Global Marketing Solutions, Spafax
- Moderator: Rebecca Legge, VP Sales, CanadaWide

With more than 90% of RFPs asking for Integrated Campaigns, we need to all know what advertisers are looking for. This session had an excellent panel ranging from Reader’s Digest to Alberta Venture to Spafax (properties include enRoute) with Rebecca Legge from CanadaWide moderating. The panelists presented case studies of Integrated Sales Campaigns that have gone RIGHT and spent time talking about the trends and the changing role of Publishers.

Here are the key highlights:

1. Want large advertisers? It’s not about going to the agency anymore. It’s about coming up with an amazing campaign idea and going direct to the client. Magazines are now driving idea creation. Come up with amazing idea that will leverage all your media assets into a truly unique campaign for the client. If the idea is strategically right for the client (think Duracell) they will find the budget.

Key Takeaway: Show advertisers directly the unique way they can use your media! Customize and create ideas!

2. Publishers are restructuring to account for Integrated Selling: There is a new position being created called “Marketing Solutions Manager (or an entire department, depending on the size of the publication).

The need for this position is two-fold:
i. you need a point person to manage all the people involved in an integrated campaign execution (think digital, mobile, print, editors, pr, events).
ii. You do not want your sales person managing this campaign – if they do, you’ll take them out of the market for 6+ weeks which will impact your sales.

Spafax and Reader’s Digest recommend getting as many people involved within company to generate ideas. Present topline ideas (top 3) to client, get by-in, then start doing mock-ups. Note: Don’t present topline with mock-ups because this is too costly.

Key Takeaway: If you are going after integrated campaigns, ensure you have the resources set up to execute them effectively.

3. Outsource: With integrated campaigns, the most effective approach is to outsource everything that isn’t your magazines core competency. Make it a simple formula – outsource and mark-up. BUT be aware of market value and know your costs! For instance, the average mobile app 2 years ago would cost $45,000. Today? It’s around $1800.

Key Takeaway: Develop a solid supplier network you can trust and always get multiple quotes.

4. Case Studies have the Power: If you have face time and 20 minutes in front of an advertiser – talk about case studies. The panel even recommended that you take a loss leader in order to get a great case study. These days, Rogers Media goes in 9/10 times with case study because it means so much more to an advertiser than your readership and reach.

Key Takeaway:  Evaluate advertisers based on their case study potential as well as revenue.

5. Editorial Collaboration: As our industry evolves, editorial collaboration will become a bigger part of your success.Work in partnership with your editors (this includes both your magazine & web editors) to develop products that will be relevant to your advertisers.

Key Takeaway:  Avoid silos in your organization at all costs.  Editorial and advertising need to work more closely now that ever before.

Session: Dismantling the Print-Digital Divide

This panel was my favourite of the MagNet week as it brought together some new visionaries of digital media.  All three panelists and the moderator are evangelists for the idea that print is revolutionizing the magazine publishing industry for the better.  Their technical and industry insight combined with their energy and hopeful perspectives resulted in a lively dialogue about the future of the industry.

Print isn’t Dead!
Let’s get that out of the way first.  None of the panelists believes that print is dead, but they do agree that it isn’t enough anymore.  As Doug commented “Print and digital need to play off and reinforce each other.” He also noted that budget needs to be allocated for this.

Phil’s perspective was that it is not actually dismantling that is required between print and digital, but harmonizing.  The content needs to be different for each medium and publishers need to have an intimate understanding of what their readers are actually doing with each medium.

Kat talked about how storytelling is the key, regardless of the medium and that these are exciting times because we have so many new options for storytelling.

When you break it down into the perspectives brought forth by the panelists, integrating effective digital offerings doesn’t seem as daunting, even from the perspective of a small publisher.  As Kat aptly pointed out, it is all about context.  Publishers need to figure out what content their readers are looking for in each context that is created by emerging technologies and deliver that content to them.

There were so many critical themes covered in this session, I’ve decided to share the majority of my notes from the session. I hope you get as much out of them as I did.

Detailed Session Notes:

A: Print is glorified, web seems to be denigrated. Why the bias??
D: Yes, but it will change with time. Advertisers still want print regardless of higher ROI on web, but cost is factor.
K: All print is not created equal (ie paper quality, design), but with new technologies digital can be just as beautiful and also fun to play with. Remember we all learned to read on paper so we have built-in nostalgia.
P: We’re only starting to create good reading experiences on web. For instance, SEO is getting in the way, the obsession with page views over other metrics. Web needs to get better in terms of overall reading experience.
K: Google is working to fix this, starting to value publishers in terms of them having authority over random websites

A: We’re in a phase of the web that can be compared to when TV was treated like radio. These are early days and there is a lot to figure out. How has the editor’s job changed with a multi-platform environment? How do they need to adapt?
D: Storytellers will never go away but editors need to get more technical
K: Editors need to be be part of web culture (collaborative, sharing , linking, tweeting). Web editors are always working in tandem with the world, not just once a week/month. Editors need to have some tech skills to deal with the coders effectively.

A: How have you had to change going from print to digital (to Phil & Doug)?
P: Everyone needs to remember that they’re working toward the same thing whether they are technical or not. Developers need to have their head in the publishing game as well, they need to always have eye to producing better news.

A: Silos are a problem – how should an office be structured so people talk to each other?
K: I had an idea that magazine offices should move around once in awhile so everyone gets exposed to all parts of the team and gets the benefit of different perspectives (web editors get to do this more than print).

A: What works in digital and not in print or vice-versa?
P: Primary source works well with digital only. “Professorial editorial” doesn’t work very well online (i.e traditional Maclean’s editorial does not work online). It is too haughty (Arjun). There is an expectation of confrontation on the web (pugilistic style).
K: Content silos work well in print, but not being able to share online is not ok.  (i.e iPad article with no share links) – Wired does this well on their iPad app. Makes things easy on digital from platform to platform.
D: Video is great online and it is really fun.

A: Do digital page turners (like Zinio) on website work anymore?
K: They are archaic (amen!!). We need to make things easy for people on the web. If I have to zoom, it will not work.

A: Paywalls – how long will it take for people to realize we will pay for content and not everything is free? (He then gave iTunes store example – people pay for music now)
P: First, we need to figure out a coherent way to sell it to them. Current models are confusing. There is no good way for people to buy. There is an effort to minimize print cannibalization, but not all readers can go out and get a print copy! Suggests a freemium model (regular and first class – people are all going to the same place but with a better experience).
D: We’re all experimenting right now (and it’s a very expensive experiment – Kat).

A: Let’s talk design & format. Do we expect good design on the web?
K: I do.
D: I insist!
K: Design is getting much better. Sites are starting to look like they’ve taken that next step that they didn’t 3 years ago
P: I actually don’t like our design online, but don’t mind the print version. Websites need to conform to the way users are using them. Referenced someone that said, “design is how it works”. Look at metrics and get an idea of how to present it in a way that users want.
A: …and that can change constantly.
P: Gives pagination example  – people don’t read past page 2, but if page views (rather than actual reader engagement) is your metric then that will affect your design
P: We need art directors in our industry (web) badly!

Audience Question: what’s the best way to put your print mag online?
K: Put it on your website, not in flip edition (like Wired)
A: First ask, why am I moving my content on the web? If you don’t have a good answer, you’re damaging your brand. If the answer is to enhance reader experience, then you will want to do more than a page turner (like Zinio).

Audience Question: Is Maclean’s making more $ online than offline?
P: Hell no!
K: But you’re spending less.
P: There just isn’t enough revenue to have massive resources on web. I was amazed at how little it would take to buy all ads on our website (estimated $5k)
K: Digital is 40% of revenue at Wired but they have 40 stories a day. “If you play small you’re going to stay small”

A: Where are we going?
D: Publishers are looking for a way to add a web component to their print with a reasonable cost model.  That is what a good art director can help do.

A: Does a good art director need to have a good head for both print & digital?
D: Writers have to as well
P: Mobile is not the saviour people think it is. iPad is actually make things harder, doesn’t mean people will automatically shell out $$ for what we did 5 years ago.
K: We need to evolve metrics beyond page views to targeted products (ex.National Geographic is doing good iPad stuff). The beauty of iTunes store is impluse buying, but you need to price so it can be an impulse buy.

A: Brings up Apple’s new magazine rack
K: Zinio dropped the ball and I’m hoping Apple will pick it up.

A: References a recent incident where he saw a kid who tried to “zoom” a print pub. Aren’t we just pushing info, does platform matter in the end?
K: No
P: Yes, though there is a lot of crossover. What you do best in print is rarely what you do best on web. It’s a different experience readers are looking for. The two things are separate (ex web on tv)
D: What we do on the web would not make sense on the web. web and print need to live together and play off of each other rather than being separate camps
K: Print isn’t dying, but it is going to become a nostalgia item. Readers are changing. Deliver what the reader wants for where the reader is.
A: “Printyness” of magazines is rising.  Magazine’s are embracing their difference from the web.

Audience Question: What is your opinion on physical newsstands?
K: Canadian newsstand is weak to begin with
A: Newsstand for many mags is just a branding vehicle. That audience can’t be proven well to advertisers. The web does data so much better, there is much more to sell, but it is honest. He then quoted someone, “the difference b/wn old media and new media is truth.” The old metric system (PMB) is ludicrous.
P: Revenue depends on pageviews but it relies on the sections people don’t actually go to, to the point where it is crippling.

Audience Question: Are print subscribers the same or different from the digital subscribers?
P: Right now, we can’t know. Unifying metrics needed
K: Online ads are bad.
D: Design is the largest advantage that print has – people consider ads content
K: Is that because the ads are so much better done?
D: On web its easy to ignore advertising.

Audience Question: What is the “real cost” to produce an online pub if the content comes from writers already on staff for the print pub?
P: We effectively have two separate operations (web & print) and content is licensed from print ops. A certain % of revenue goes to the print pub to cover writing costs.

A: Is there pressure to make web financially sustainable?
P: We don’t make enough money to pay for one month of a top writer
A: Newyorker.com doesn’t create any original content except blogs (writers on retainer). These writers post when they want (have access to CMS)
K: Web writing is about interacting with a community of readers (i.e. good writers who have good twitter following is worth more than another writer)
D: My editors get paid to create a certain amount of pages and they agreed to let me repurpose in order to expand our sub base (but he was a start-up essentially)

Audience Question: What are ad rates for apps?
K: Admob and iApp take a %
A: Sponsorship is a model. It’s like the wild west – that’s why a brand is so important, right type of eyeballs regardless of format
D: Advertisers are buying across platforms, so it may be thrown in or at least not costed out on its own

Session:

Panelists:
Todd Latham – President, Actual Media Inc. and Publisher Water Canada < and ReNew Canada
Melissa Kluger – Publisher, Precedent
Laura Aiken – Editor, Canadian Pizza Magazine

Moderator: D.B. Scott, President , Impresa Communications

This was an interesting panel as it featured real-world advice from three very different niche publishers, ranging from Law & Fashion to, well, Pizza. Niche publishing requires razor sharp focus in terms of specialized editorial vision, sales & marketing.

Though different, the panelists shared many of the same challenges and successes.  Here are some of the key tips for success in niche publishing.

1. Really know your audience and stick to it.
Melissa made a great point that it might be tempting to try and focus on a larger market, but she has narrowed and keeps her focus on a core group of lawyers.  She could try to cover all of Canada, but she knows that 50% of lawyers are in Ontario and 50% of those lawyers are in Toronto.  That is the only audience she focuses on, both with editorial and advertising.  That is where her publication has the reputation and credibility advertisers are looking for. Todd’s advice was simply, “Stick to your knitting.”  Good words to live by!

2. Create Community
It has been said many times at this week’s conference, that it is about more than the magazine, it has to be about the brand.  All three panelists addressed how they use their brand platforms to foster community with and for their readers. Precedent produces events for lawyers like their recent “Dress to Bill” fashion show that provide a fun networking environment.

Laura from Canadian Pizza stressed the importance of being one with your community and utilizing your network to establish credibility. She also stressed though, that it can take up to three years in her experience to reach a level of authority in a new industry.

3. Provide information no one else can
Precedent features a Hireback Watch which is type of temperature gauge for the industry, and it took gaining the trust of law firms to provide information that isn’t readily available elsewhere.  This kind of content gives Precedent a competitive advantage over bigger publications.

4. Keep up…with your audience
There are inherent resource challenges with niche publications that have to be addressed.  In a world filled with iPad apps and tweeting, it is important to recognize what your audience expects of your publication in terms of technology.  If they aren;t on Twitter, then you don’t need to be either.  Why invest in a a fancy iPad app if your audience is not tech savvy?  Match your efforts in regards to technology with the pace of your audience’s adoption.

Bonus tip from Todd in regards to line extensions – their Top 100 Infrastructure List special issue is a huge advertiser draw.  In his words, “Everybody loves lists!”